Trump urges Tehran residents to evacuate

2025-06-17 10:39:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US President Donald Trump has returned to Washington early from the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada because he needs to address "important issues," White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said on June 16.

The announcement came shortly after Trump, via social media, called on Tehran residents to immediately leave the city.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal.’ I told them to sign it. What a shame and what a waste of human life. Simply put: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I have said it over and over again,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Everyone should evacuate Tehran immediately!”

The Israeli army earlier issued a notice calling on residents of a district of Tehran to evacuate.

The warnings come at a time when Israel has intensified attacks on Iran, which it says aim to destroy the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities.

Before his decision to leave the summit in Canada early, Trump told reporters: "As soon as I leave, we'll do something. But I have to leave."

French President Emmanuel Macron said that, given the goal of reaching a ceasefire in the Middle East, Trump's departure from the G7 summit is a positive development, noting that the Americans have offered to meet with the Iranians.

"If the United States manages to secure a ceasefire, that is a very good thing," Macron told reporters.

But Trump later responded to Macron's statement, saying the French leader mistakenly said he had left the summit to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

"Wrong! He has no idea why I'm coming back to Washington now, but it probably has nothing to do with a ceasefire. It's something much bigger than that. Whether intentionally or not, Emmanuel is always wrong," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Before Trump left the summit, the seven leaders signed a statement stressing "the importance of protecting civilians," following a surge in attacks that have caused civilian casualties in both countries.

The leaders of the G7 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US - also said that Iran "can never have nuclear weapons" and that Israel "has the right to defend itself".

The statement said it hoped to find a solution to the Iranian crisis, a solution "that leads to a reduction in tensions in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza."

Questions have been raised about possible US involvement in the attacks on Iran since the first wave of bombings carried out by Israel on June 13. The US president has repeatedly reiterated that the United States was not involved in the initial attacks and has refused to state whether it will participate in the future.

Asked what would have to happen for the US to become militarily involved in the conflict, Trump said: "I don't want to talk about that."

Israel has targeted several Iranian nuclear sites, but has failed to destroy the uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, which is located deep underground and is located about 200 kilometers south of Tehran. According to military experts who spoke to the American media, to eliminate this facility, Israel would need a US bunker-penetrating bomb, which can only be carried by the American B-2 bomber, which is equipped with radar-evading technology.